There Was a Barber and a Boy
by ShadowedElegance
Summary: He wore a heavy expression of fury gravely mixed with grief and laced with fear. He was soaked to the bone and held Sweeney’s discarded razor open, ready to attack.
1. There Was a Barber and a Boy

**A friend of mine challenged me to to a fic with Todd and Toby so...here it is! Review if you think it is any good.**

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The deed was done and the screams of Nellie Lovett were subsiding from the bakehouse furnace. Sweeney Todd trudged over to the cold body of his wife and knelt beside her lifeless figure. He cooed softly to her:

"There was a barber and his wife…"

He continued his barely audible song until a faint noise made disturbed him. It sounded like footsteps. They sounded much smaller than one would imagine but they were impossibly large for any animal who called the sewers of London home. Just then, Todd heard a delicate sound come from behind him. He paused, waiting for the noise to reoccur. He was no longer brimming with fury, but instead curiosity and a certain fear as to what demons the sewers could provide. A sniffle followed by a sorrowful whimper caused the grown man to turn around. There he saw sobs shaking the tiny figure of the timid Tobias. He wore a heavy expression of fury gravely mixed with grief and laced with fear. He was soaked to the bone and held Sweeney's discarded razor open, ready to attack.

"She was all I had!" The distressed child sobbed. He must have watched the whole scene from the sewer.

"What am I supposed to do now?"

Todd looked at the boy and felt a slight remorse. He was right. Toby had been at the workhouse all of his life until he was greedily snatched up by that conniving backstabber, Pirelli. After the death of that scumbag, he was held in the perpetual love of Mrs. Lovett, whom Todd had just mercilessly incinerated. The boy was to be abandoned once again but he clearly wasn't leaving without justification. Sweeney turned around again to bring his gaze once more to his spouse's figure resting on the cobblestone. All of a sudden he felt a flimsy thump on his right shoulder. Once again he swiveled his muscular frame to face the child and stood up. Toby had punched him. The boy closed the razor and stuffed into his pants pocket before launching a full assault of punches on Todd's lower chest and stomach. Sweeney was taken aback by this fit of violent rage. Toby was always such a quiet and obedient boy, but he was quite strong as well, though not strong enough to really hurt.

The boy stood there, sobbing, teeth clenched, beating away at the sturdy man before him not the least bit frightened as to what could happen if he truly upset this killer. Toby's blows to Sweeney continued for just a while before growing weaker and less frequent until he lost all control of his emotions and threw his arms around Todd's torso in a solid embrace. He was obviously surprised by this, but let the boy stand there and hold him while he tried to control his wavering voice and speak to him.

"I'm all alone now Mr. Todd. I have no one. You are alone now too." His tears slowed and his voice gained a more natural rhythm as he continued. "I saw the whole thing. I know you were fighting for her, your wife, and she is gone now. What are you going to do _now_? What am _I_ supposed to do now?"

Toby's words went straight to the hardened heart of Sweeney Todd and began to chip away the ice. He was right again, as children usually are due to their pureness before society corrupts them. He had nothing left to do now that his revenge on Judge Turpin was complete. He no longer needed to fight for Lucy. He needn't help Anthony rescue Johanna. It was useless for him to continue killing for the sake of "Mrs. Lovett's Meat Pies". All at once a great sadness came over him and the last of the ice melted off of his heart and turned into hot tears which streamed down his face as his gaze met Toby's and his arms wrapped around the child. And there they stood, alone in the world except for each other, not knowing where their fate would take them.

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**I am debating over whether to continue this, just leave it as is, or if it is even any good. Reviews are GREATLY appreciated since this was a challenge given to me by a friend and did not come about by my own accord. Thank you in advance!**


	2. What Have I Done?

"_What have I done?"_

That night as he slept, Sweeney Todd was plagued by nightmares fabricated of fire and shrieks of horrendous pain. The only thing that would come out of the darkness every time he closed his eyes was the expression on Nellie Lovett change from pure elation, to utter confusion, to sheer terror, and finally into agonizing pain. Regret and remorse laced every move he made. Toby's prior actions had forced him to seriously evaluate what he had done. Mrs. Lovett was always loyal, never complained about cleaning up the blood, or skinning, grinding, and cooking the bodies. She had shown him unconditional love even though she knew the return would only be a hollow 'thank you' or nod and even then she took that as though it were the greatest recognition of high esteem. On top of doing half of his dirty work, she had run a full time business. With the aid of Toby she had taken orders, cooked, and served as well as entertained.

"_Yes, and then there is Toby…"_

His train of though started to wander in a new direction. The boy had been at the workhouse, then with Pirelli, and then found a true friend and maternal figure in Nellie. Oh, that child loved her so. Toby would do anything for her, even if it meant going to see Mr. Todd himself in the shop if it was what she wanted. He had found a real reason in life in that woman and was ready to avenge her.

"_She was barely gone two minutes and already Toby had already begun turning into me…"_

Todd suddenly realized how much impact his presence would now have on this boy. Toby was at such a point in his life right now that a personality could still be molded like clay, but if exposed to the darkness and negativity of the only individual he had to look to, the bright child may suffer in gloom for life. The boy's heart seemed to grow warmer in spirit and character every moment he spent with Nellie, but if everyday was to be around him, the warmth would leave and Toby's heart would grow just as cold as his own. Something had to be done to ensure that the child would have a sense of joy in his life, but what? London had very little to offer such a boy as Toby…

"_That's it! Toby cannot remain in this pit of a city…his heart must remain with his mother's forever...by the sea."_


End file.
